I”m sure this will start up a lot of back and forths in the c-section..
In hip hop there is often talk of who the greatest rappers of all-time are. Unfortunately, that list isn’t gauged solely on skill. Rather, the so-called greatest rappers are shoved down our throats for a variety of things that have less to do with lyrical ability and more to do with commercial appeal. But then you have those emcees that are often forgotten about when the topic of great emcees comes up. These are rappers who have superb lyrical ability but for one reason or another are criminally slept on. So the good folks of TheWellVersed got together and we argued about who the most unappreciated lyricists are. We had a massive list of that we had to chop down to ten rappers. This isn’t a G.O.A.T. list so don’t ask questions about where Jay-Z is at. This list is all about those whose lyrical capability far too often goes unnoticed. And before you say “I’ve always thought such and such was dope, so how is he unappreciated,” remember that just because you like them doesn’t mean everyone else does too. In the case of emcees like Bun B and Redman, they don’t get enough credit for what they have accomplished on the mic. So, without further adieu, TWV presents The 10 Most Unappreciated Emcees in Hip Hop. Go ahead and fight over it.
READ: [The Tens] The 10 Most Unappreciated Emcees In Hip Hop
1) Budden
2) Budden
3) Budden
4) Budden
5) Budden
6) Budden
7) Budden
8) Budden
9) Budden’s son
10) Reks
Big Boi gets plenty appreciation, Cause hes a G!
3000 went all awkward on everybody but Big Boi kept it real
and for that i appreciate that dude as my favorite artist EVER!
Go DownLoad That Ty’Quan-Doe Now By Ty’Quan Promise Its Worth Your Time http://tyquan1.bandcamp.com/album/tyquan-doe
Great list. I’ve always thought it was crazy how Black Thought and Posdnous aren’t thought of as G.O.A.T. candidates. Would have liked to see DOOM or Elzhi on the list, but can’t argue with any of the ten the author chose. Good shit.
everyone who sits down and listens will appreciate these artists unfortunately not them many people do anymore
Joe Budden gets no fuckin appreciation. People simple know him as the Pump It Up guy n never take a chance to look at his full discography.
Aint a rapper alive that has as much chaarisma and classic tracks with that much replay value as Joey.
Crooked-I n his crew COB his tha most slept in tha rap game
even known Crooked is signed to Shady Rec, but we all know his above all the rappers, Tha Greatest of all time n fuck Jay-Z they killed him in freestyle at the wake up show
Nas
Joe Budden
Redman
Royce da 5’9
Bun B
Elzhi
AB-Soul
Rittz
Wale
Kendrick Lamar
i say Sean Price should be on list too. youknowimsayin?
Joe Budden should always be known as the “Pump It Up Guy.”. Don’t get me wrong, he’s very nice on the mic, but not nice enough to be an “appreciated emcee” especially when compared to Bun B.
Nas? LOL! add to list Slaughterhouse Murs Sean Price and there may be two more emcees…the rest are all over the place.
how about Blu?
Sorry to say it but Asher Roth deserves to be on this list… Dude has GROWN so much in the game and is a DOPE rapper
Chino XL should be on that list.
Disagree with Bun B.. everytime he’s mentioned he’s called a legend.. and he’s been watering down his catalog with wayyyyy too many average guest verses these past few years..
Apart from that.. good list.. Phonte and Pharaohe deserve more shine and I agree with the Budden comment above..
AZ is so unappreciated he’s not even on the most unappreciated list.
DE LA SOUL IS SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SLEPT ON!!! Im glad they mentioned Pos. Brother ALI is great too. I also like CL Smooth, Skillz and Jon Connor. For females, I like Jean Grae, Bahamadia and Nitty Scott MC.
Completely agree with you on that realtalk. Bun B is featured on everybody and their mother’s album and always drops average verses at best. Plus his flow is wack and he may be the most monotone emcee I’ve heard to date.
Pharoahe Monch
Elzhi
Black Thought
Redman
I feel like a lot of the others mentioned are lacking something… In my book, these guys have it all.
And Nas doesn’t belong anywhere on that list. I don’t think there’s a single hip-hop fan who doesn’t know and appreciate Nas.
Fux Curren$y at??
Beautiful post…no nonsense and really necessary discussion!
joe budden and obie trice should be top of that list
BLU.
Fat Joe – Never got prop for make it rain and he the one that started it
AZ – living in Nas shadow
Big Boi – Living in Andre Shadow
I cant say Nas like some people would say because he put himself in the position he’s in because he had plenty of chances to be above Jay Z but I like Nas because he aint no sellout.
Joe Budden is wack and heres why he doesnt get the props that some of ya’ll think he should. Its because he only stays in one zone on every song on every album, he gives you the same perspective over and over. Yeah he can change subject matter sometimes and he has a flow thats conversational but he delivers the same feeling every time. He just raps about how life sucks 95% of the time and most of his shit is about his own emotional problems. His wordplay can be dope but really he aint even really trying that hard. All he does his write down his side of a long conversation and then record it and to me thats not that dope. I think Fat Joe, Phonte, Murs, Evidence and Saigon get slept on and dont get the props that they’ve earned through hard work and delivering dope shit. When really they make way better music then alot of popular rappers.
Freddie Gibbs = most slept on
Big Boi is mad unappreciated, my favorite rapper of all time
CL SMOOOOOOOOOOOOTH!!!!!
My problem with Bun B is that he’s great as a featured artist, but when he puts out an album, he’s just a generic southern rapper (i.e. sounds exactly like other southern music). He might reach a broader audience if he diversified his beat selection.
Brother Ali is ok, but I’ve never really been a fan.
I’m a big Pharoahe Monch fan, but his verse on Phonte’s album was awful and uninspired. I can’t give him a pass for using “onomonopia” instead of “onomatopoeia”. He’s smarter than that.
I’m shocked Elzhi isn’t on this list, but everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.
My most unappreciated has to be Rah Digga. She’s the one female MC who can lyrically hang with the best of them and isn’t focused primarily on sex appeal.
What kind of fucking list is this? I mean I guess these guys are unappreciated by the Lil Wayne radio listeners but even if you are just a little better than that you will know who Big Boi, Bun B, Redman, Black Thought, and Cee Lo are. Except some people don’t know that Cee Lo used to rap. But at least no one on that least is legitimately bad.
Prodigy of Mobb Deep
Blaq Poet
Game
Apathy
1) Lupe Fiasco
2) Lupe
3) Lupe
4) Lupe
5) Lupe
6) Lupe
7) Lupe
9) Lupe
10) Game
The whole D.I.T.C…
blu
Good list, although Redman doesn’t seem unappreciated…he had some hot stuff and then misses with some of his songs a bit questionable. He’s got skills though. MF Doom or Sean Price shoulda got his spot.
budden, horse shoe gang, & apathy definitely need to be on here
Good selection on the list.
To the dude who said Nas… You an idiot. And If you don’t understand why I say that then my point is proven.
I would have put AZ, Sean P and DOOM up too. Lotta peeps sayin that some of these young MCs should be on this list…they might be in a few years, but not yet. Most of these rappers are in the twilight of their careers (unfortunately), so they have earned a spot after years of rhymin with moderate success.
Not sure I understand the underappreciated part tho. I would have to assume in terms of album sales. There are a few MCs on this list that did really well with a lot of their albums so I don’t quite understand.
Tech N9ne and Z-Ro
Idk the most underappreciated has to be Lil Wayne….Lollipop so lyrical its stupid
Sha Stimuli needs to be on this list for real.
I would add Doom to the list, his lyrical content and his production (Metal Fingaz) is amazing, I like Black Thought on the list folks dont give the Roots good enough credit. Redman isn’t unappreciated tho and I dont feel he should be on here. Neither should big boi, cee-lo or Bun B.
@marty mcfly
this is why i never take you seriously and why i still shouldnt. i personally think joe budden is getting too much appreciation to be on this list but your dumbass is apparently very selective in what you call dope. you dont have to like a rapper to think he’s good, but you hate on this guy for no logical or justifiable reason. you just listed fat joe over joe budden in someone who gets overlooked. you obviously dont value your own opinion or credibility if youre going to say something as ridiculous as that lmao. its like your half hipster picking some lesser listened to rappers but then half ignorant ass nigger who only knows the mainstream, smh
If the artist hasn’t been in the game at least a decade…..the shouldn’t be on the list. It’s a damn shame that Killer Mike isn’t on the list. He’s top 10 all time material. Joe Budden should DEFINITELY be on the list.
Well Fat Joe came out ten years before Joe Budden and he put up several singles and albums that have been way more successful and memorable the Joe. He started Terror Squad and brought in Big Pun and he is one of the best and most respected MCs from the Bronx and you probably know the lyrics to Lean Back by heart. Go listen to Angels Say by Fat Joe that just came out like last week and see hes still on point. I cant say the same about Joe because his biggest song is still Pump It Up and that came out in 03… Im trying to be good 2DBZ but they keep calling me back in LOL
One day the world will wake up and recognize “K-Rino” the most talented MC in the game Hands Down!!!
Budden is the most d=famous slaughterhouse member. When people mention them budden pops op in their heads. So I dunno why people keep mentioning a man who has a HUGE fanbase already.
Crooked I > Budden.
u-god, K-OS, Cormega, cannibal ox (duo)
#1 RAS KASS
#2 LA THE DARKMAN
#3 SEAN PRICE
#4 K-RINO
#5 RA THE RUGGED MAN
#6 CELPH TITLED
#7 APATHY
#8 VINNIE PAZ
#9 SERIUS JONES
#10 TOM GIST
Black Thought definitely. Phonte, Ras Kass, & Cee-Lo I can definitely agree with. I voted for Jean Grae too, the others I think get their props. I might’ve added Cise Starr, Scarface, & Devin the Dude to the list though.
MC Ren and Dj Quik are also underrated
First, can I get a Holla! City of Squalla! Yes, oh yes – oh yes. Mr. Maynard is back and is hear to kick knowledge to all of you my youngings who come hear because you are yearning for hip hop culture. And today is your lucky day because I am answering your call.
Seond, Joe Budden SuxXx. Bottom line. He had 1 good song, Pump…pump…pump it up! And I thought the remix wuz betta because of Busta Bus Busta…AKA Busta Rhymes.
Ok and third, how are yallz gonna leave off LiL Wayne aka Weezy F. Baby aka Carter Carter Carter Carter. He is god MC. No one can do it betta. You better appreciate the red god.
^”red god”? that’s a new one lol
@marty mcfly
more memorable? really? your judgement is allll fucked up
and no i dont know any fat joe song. but there are a shit ton of people who know shit like dumb out, pain in his life, and now i lay by heart
no AZ or DOOM(he’ll murder anyone IMO) is a crime…they are criminally slept on…and marty is right…joe’s problem is subject matter and the reason he never blew up…when he does switch it up, he’s an animal on the mic and still a favorite…lupe isn’t unappreciated at all so having him as a vote in is wack too lol…
budden’s first album is his happiest as well…went gold…still slept on till this day…
@Grimzz
exactly
AZ and Percee P… need not mention anyone else… AZ STILL flys the flag and is the king of [and has always been really, along with Pun] multisyllabic rhyme patterns… and Percee’s flow stays and remains dope; one of THE BEST of all time… considering his talent level and overall lyrical calibre, Percee ain’t slept on… depressingly, he’s forgotten about…
GRIEF78
http://www.grief78.bandcamp.com
ELZHI
ELZHI
ELZHI
ELZHI
AND ……….ELZHI
Devin the Dude should definitely be on this list
Murs and Kanye needs to happen. He would come off so dope on some Kanye beats and they could spit that real life rap shit oh so well
where’s Elzhi?
Elzhi has been around since 97 and has only been getting better since then… he def should be up there
elzhi does deserve a spot. been waiting for black thought to get some love as well. id put big daddy kane up there, personally. you gotta go back a few generations to find people who really appreciate what big daddy kane did. rest of the list was legit though. im a huge bun b and redman fan though, so i personally wouldnt put them on that list. i know a lotta people who fuck with those dudes pretty hard. Black Thought is the G.O.A.T. in my opinion. Him or Kane. GZA could get on that list too. Liquid Swords is probably the most slept on hip hop album ever, in my opinion. Never mentioned with Illmatic, Ready to Die, Reasonable Doubt, etc…
And Common. Some motherfucker told me that Kanye West was the best emcee from Chicago, and that he made Commons career. The followed that statement with, “His only two good albums are Be and Finding Forever.” Not even close. Not only were they not his only two good albums, but they werent even two of his best albums. Fucking kids these days.
ELZHI
BLU
5TH CHILD
almost forgot HASSAAN MACKEY
@ThaTruth: Make It Rain got mainstream appeal & a sopt in pop culture, but that was only because of Lil Wayne’s hook.
Andy & B-rown you both fucking stupid ass hell . one andy bun b’s flow is not wack & never can be wack,hater. nothing about bun b’s voice say’s monotone. get you ears checked because everything bun b does is dope.
B-rown ,nothing about Bun b or UGK says generic southern rapper at all Bun b last 2 albuums did not sound like generic southern rap. i.e. other southern music sounds exactly like Bun b & UGK ,hater . know your history because everybody from south copies from Bun b & UGK . get off New yorks & the east coast dick ,haters
I betcha marty mcfly is probably some butthurt WuTang fan.
Joey is FAAAR from wack. Listen seriously to MM4 and tell me he is with a straight face.
Actually not a bad list all of those MCs should be better appreciated……but my top 15 would be (since i cant make a 10)
1)Pharoahe Monch
2)RA the Rugged Man
3)Edan
4)Black Thought
5)Chino XL
6)Percee P
7)Lord Finesse
8)Elzhi
9)Devin the Dude
10)Wise Intelligent
11)Treach
12)Cormega
13)AZ
14)Inspectah Deck
15)Phonte
Super co-sign @wutang4eva on everything said especially Black Thought being the GOAT
@Pauly Wutang is far more successful and way more iconic then Joe Budden so theres no reason to be butthurt over a group that helped make lyricism cool and yes I heard MM4 and it was lyrically mediocre and musically terrible. Go listen to Wutang Forever and listen to the difference in lyrical ability.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3FSDNmYrzY&feature=related
^^^^^
That wasn’t even the argument. The argument was that Joe Budden is underrated because jackasses like you love to bring up Pump Pump Pump it Up!
And MM4 was musically terrible? Have you HEARD Sober Up? Or 1,000 Faces? Stuck In The Moment? No Idea? GTFOH
What about Bishop Lamont, Saigon, and Common. These dudes are nice wit the spit
JADAKISS AND STYLES P, BEEN GOIN HARD, STILL KILLIN THE GAME!
DMX, HE CHANGED THE WHOLE COURSE OF HIPHOP IN THE 90S HAD 5 NUMBER 1 ALBUMS IN A ROW, HIS 6TH WAS NUMBER 2. SOLD MILLIONS. WAS BIGGER THAN JAY-Z, WHEN JAY-Z WAS AT THE TOP OF HIS GAME AROUND 1998-2004. BROUGHT LEGENDS TO THE TABLE, LIKE JADA SP EVE SWIZZ BEATS, WITH THE RUFF RYDERS. YET BECAUSE HE HAS HIS PROBLEMS, HIS LEGACY WAS FORGOTTEN AND HE IS LOOKED AT AS A JOKE.
Common
Beanie Sigel
AZ
who are the 5 best rappers of all time? Think about it…
Dylan
Dylan
Dylan, Dylan and
Dylan
BECAUSE I SPIT HOT FIRE
What about Blu: Below the Heavens, Johnson and Jonson, Jesus… don’t sleep on Blu…
One day the world will wake up and recognize “K-Rino” the most talented MC in the game Hands Down!!!
Todd Davis said this on November 7th, 2011 at 7:00 pm
I salute you for calling out K-Rino… Let me add The Last Emperor and Illogic to that list…
I putted Nas because in my book, he’s the G.O.A.T., and he has been overshadowed by pac and BIG, while he was on the same level.
I agree with people saying Lupe Fiasco, the whole Slaughterhouse crew, Devin the Dude, Black Thought, RA the rugged man and AZ, and I hope Black Hippy gets the shine they deserve..
But eventually, if you look at it in a way, everybody has his own taste and some rappers will never be understood by ‘the rap industry’.
We ain’t gotta complain, after a couple of years of Weezy what do we get?
J. Cole, Kendrick Lamar, Slaughterhouse, Big K.R.I.T., Omen, Black Hippy, and I can go on and on.. Hip-Hop is alive like a motherfucker with good creative new influences, as I said, we aint gotta complain..
Also agree with people saying Obie Trice.. that Battle Cry track was fire!!!!
Twista hands down
They lost me with pos, and where the hell is crooked I, to me the me most under rated mc in the game, before being Royce da 5’9″, then he finally got his due, but yeah pos…Really, and what about those C.O.B. dudes the Horseshoe gang(I am really impressed with these mc’s), this list needed more “now” rappers no disrespect to Redman who is forever one of my favorite MC’s (Rated “R” is one of the illest records ever), and Ras Kas is someone I know personally who never got his due, but the culture of Hip Hop has grown so much globally that we need to constantly have our ears open for that next generation of MC’s that we’ll be listening to for the next decade. All in all this was a pretty decent list, I agree with most of them but not pos. and Twista gets his due along with many others that people are screaming don’t get respect (Nas, Common, Scarface…seriously).
Obie definitely should be on a list like this along with:
all of Slaughter House, J. Cole, Wale, Fred the Godson, Big K.R.I.T., AZ, Styles P, Elzhi, K Sparks, Murs, and Jean Grey who is still the best female rapper never heard.
This is unfortunately something that will always be apart of Hip Hop. In the beginning it was due to lack of media outlets willing to have anything to do with Hip Hop (Meaning no real exposure to the world was readily available), so a lot of talent went unnoticed, or overlooked. Now a days, the mere volume of MC’s and outlets available for MC’s to get exposed is overwhelming so again a lot of talent goes unnoticed, or definitely overlooked. But what has grown over the years is the volume of underground consumers and listeners thanks to the internet, so a lot of our favorite unnoticed or not well respected MC’s have a way to make money world wide which keeps them in the game a lot longer than it did 20 years ago. The underground is no longer in the streets its on the internet.
With that said I Love this Hip Hop Shit!
(and I grew up in this Hip Hop game from the very beginning and was even apart of many Hip Hop Cultural events from ’93 – ’04 so I don’t want to hear shit about I don’t know wtf I’m talking about!)
Spitta definitely needs to be on this list. Crooked I probably deserves it too. Oh and Tradmark
SEAN PRICE… #BrokestRapperYouKnow
1) Kendrick Lamar
2) Nas
3) Damon “MOTA” Ortiz
4) Gibbs
5) Lupe
6) Wale
7) Pill
8) Andre 3000 (He doesn’t get enough respect, one of the best emcees of all time)
9) AZ
10) Bun B
Not in order btw.
the comments in this c-section are all but worthless. This list is an opinion. Here’s my opinion on Joe Budden….. he sucks. ya’ll think otherwise well then good for you. I think all of slaughterhouse sucks, but that’s my OPINION and I’m entitled to it no matter what you ignorant “hip-hop heads” and believe me I use the term very fucking loosely
the comments in this c-section are all but worthless. This list is an opinion. Here’s my opinion on Joe Budden….. he sucks. ya’ll think otherwise well then good for you. I think all of slaughterhouse sucks, but that’s my OPINION and I’m entitled to it no matter what you ignorant “hip-hop heads” *THINK ABOUT IT and believe me I use the term very fucking loosely
Nice list, but would have like to see Masta Ace, One Be Lo, or Tonedeff on this list. Especially Masta Ace who I think is the most unappreciated MC of all time.
@Pauly Dee
thank you! marty reasons like a 4 year old lmao
@ZANGIEF
good well at least ur not like marty and giving some bullshit reason for why he’s wack, if you dont like it you dont like it
DO NOT KNOW HOW I FORGOT MASTA ACE!!!!!!!!! Dude is illmatic. Thank god for someone else saying his name.
I refuse to believe that I’m the only person in here who mentioned REKS…
Deeply saddened
Skyzoo? Torae? eLZhi? AZ?
Still, decent list.